Iran International reveals new network selling sanctioned Iranian oil worth billions

A newly uncovered oil trading operation tied to Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has been quietly exporting millions of barrels of sanctioned crude, according to documents obtained by Iran International and sources within Iran’s Oil Ministry. The network’s participants reportedly still owe billions of dollars from earlier sales, raising questions about why Tehran would entrust the same cast of characters with yet another round of high-stakes oil smuggling.

How the network operates

Iran has built an elaborate infrastructure of front companies and intermediaries spread across the UAE, Hong Kong, and China to circumvent US sanctions and deliver crude to buyers, primarily in China. The Shayan Network fits neatly into this playbook.

The operation relies on so-called “trustee” middlemen who handle the logistics of moving sanctioned barrels from Iranian ports to end buyers. These intermediaries use shadow fleet tactics, including ship-to-ship transfers at sea, to obscure the origin of the cargo before it reaches its destination.

The problem, as Iran International’s reporting makes clear, is that these trustees have a track record of not fully returning revenues. The Shayan Network’s members owe billions from prior transactions, a pattern that has plagued Tehran’s sanctions-evasion efforts for years.

This isn’t a new headache for Iran’s government. The case of Babak Zanjani, a businessman who served as one of Iran’s most prominent oil intermediaries, became a cautionary tale when individual unreturned revenue cases exceeded $200 million. Zanjani was eventually sentenced to death by an Iranian court, though the money was never fully recovered.

US Treasury response and the Shamkhani connection

Washington has not been sitting idle. The US Treasury has sanctioned dozens of entities and vessels tied to what officials have called the Shamkhani network, a parallel or overlapping operation involved in transporting millions of barrels of crude and liquefied petroleum gas.

What this means for energy markets

Iranian crude trades at a significant discount to international benchmarks precisely because of the legal and logistical risks involved in purchasing it.

Chinese refiners, particularly independent operators known as “teapots,” have been the most willing buyers of discounted Iranian crude. Their willingness to absorb this supply has effectively placed a floor under Iran’s export volumes. But even these buyers face periodic disruptions when their intermediaries or banking channels get caught up in US designations.

The revelation of the Shayan Network also underscores a structural vulnerability in Iran’s sanctions-evasion model. When your oil sales depend on intermediaries who routinely fail to return billions in revenue, you’re not just losing money to sanctions, you’re losing money to the people supposed to be helping you avoid them.

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